I gained 55 pounds in one year and now I'm having a hard time shedding it off :(

Your story sounds similar to mine! I gained about 50 lbs in the past 2 years and it feels terrible. I've had good luck in the past using fitnessblender programs and I'm one month in to one right now. I joined this site a week ago and it has made me way more aware if how much I'm eating. I'm down to be friends/motivational buddies if you're interested!

Hi Ladies! I've been on & off this sight through thick & thin in the past 5 yrs. It helps being accountable only if your in for the hard work. I have turned to Arbonne just so it makes my life easier not to have to look for all those "right" foods.
My whole family loves it. This way, we can have a snack on the run before sports & eat dinner after & no one is starving! I hope this helps,because it did me!

Focus on Calories In/Calories Out. I tried a lot of things to lose weight but its really came down to that. I'm at 248 pounds now and I started at 281 5 months ago. There are a lot of good options out there that are filling, affordable and low calorie. Look into things like Red's Burritos for breakfast (250 calories), Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers for lunch with a salad (350 calories). Balance in a decent amount of water and eat frequent small snacks. For instance, I eat 1 pound of Strawberries a day spread over 9 hours. It's cheap right now and less than 200 calories. Thats 800 calories before I even begin to think about dinner and the best part is I am never hungry. At dinner I pound the calories to get to around 2000 calories which is what my body needs. 3 times a week I do a HIIT/Strength based workout with a trainer but you can do a lot of those type of workouts on your own in about 22 minutes as long as you keep your heart rate up. Try not to live and die by the scale either. A better way to do this is to put on a tight piece of clothing and put it on each week, taking a picture, you will see the real results that way.

I can only imagine what you are going through, emotionally. It is so hard to make such a big lifestyle change with such a heavy emotional burden. Even taking emotion out of the equation, your hormones are likely out of balance as well. Take it from someone who is chronically hard on themselves-sometimes, there is more to the picture than calories in, calories out. My two cents worth: find healthy replacements for the foods you typically crave (good fats, protein, and what you are craving, but with a healthier overall impact on your body-you can find suggested replacements for typically craved items on google) that satisfy the cravings you are having (there is a usually a physiological reason that you crave them). Gaining weight is hard, but so is trying to lose it when you are not physically or emotionally ready for it. Best of luck to you!

MissTeriAnn wrote: »

I love this idea! I have all my old clothes I can try and squeeze in. How about snacking on almonds? Is that too much? I'll have to try the strawberries:)

snacking on a hand full of peanuts when you get the craving at night is good because you get protein and good fat, same goes for almonds. Hummus and veggies is good for protein and good carbs just watch the sodium. eating more calories during the day and then at night have a lighter dinner because you digest slower in your sleep. no sugar at night fruits are better in the morning because you can use the glucose during the day.

You've gotten great advice from everyone. The only thing I want to suggest is possibly seeing a counselor/therapist as you've been through a lot. It is just as an important to be emotionally healthy as it is physically. I firmly believe that the battle to lose weight starts with the right mindset.

Almonds should be fine to snack on. Remember everything in moderation. The biggest obstacle is changing the mindset of it being a diet and rather it being just a way of daily life. After that its really just showing up each day and sticking to living a healthier life. Don't starve yourself and feel so imprisoned by calorie counts that it makes you hate what you are doing. Some days I blow my calorie counts by 500 and other days MFP is yelling at me to eat more. No two days are going to be exactly alike. Think of it this way: If you drive your car at 90 mph its going to need to consume more fuel but if you drive it at 30mph its going to need less. Same deal with the body. Give the body exactly what it asks for, nothing more and nothing less. Overtime Calories In/Calories Out(CICO) will become an automatic thing. Happy to help in any way.